PSYC3026 weeks 1-6

Terms from textbook. Chapters not yet added (weeks 1-5): 3, 7, 8, 9

Behavioural prediction

The process of making predictions about one's behaviour based on previously gathered information.

Afferent nerves

Nerve cells with long dendrites which extend to different parts of the body. Messages travel from the body to the brain.

Behaviouroid

A hybrid of B and S data in which participants report what they think they would do under particular circumstances.

Biological approach

A basic approach which focusses on individual differences in terms of the body and biological mechanisms (ie. anatomy, physiology, genetics, evolution, biochemistry)

Aggregation

A method of averaging all results on a particular measurement to eliminate random error. The higher the rate of error, the more measurements are needed to cancel it out.

Amygdala

A limbic system structure involved in memory and emotion, particularly fear and aggression.

B data

Behavioural observations.

Pros:

- Data from wide range of contexts

- Can study both real and hypothetical situations

- Have the appearance of objectivity

Cons:

- Difficult and expensive

- Uncertain interpretation, prone to subjective judgement

Basic approach

A systematic, self-imposed limitation to certain types of observations, patterns, and ways of thinking about observed patterns in order to seek out and examine certain types of evidence.

Synonymous with paradigm.

Behavioural confirmation

The effect wherein a person begin to embody the characteristics that others expect them to have.

Also known as the Expectancy Effect.

Behaviourism

An approach with a focus on overt expressed behaviour and the ways it can be affected by rewards and punishments.

California Q-Set

A set of 100 statements describing possible aspects of a person which must be sorted by the interviewee into a forced distribution, thereby forcing them to directly compare the relative importance of each statement to the subject's personality.

Case method

A method involving studying a particular event or person in great detail in order to discover as much about the occurring phenomena as possible.

Cohort effect

The effect observed when comparing people of different ages, who all grew up in different environments as a result of their upbringing in different social eras, cultural backgrounds, or physical circumstances compared to other generations.

Construct

Something which is not directly tangible, but which affects and helps explain things which are visible.

Construct validation

Also known as hypothesis testing.

Constructivism

A philosophy that posits that objective reality does not exist, and that subjective constructions of reality are what comprise what people perceive as reality. As such, there is no one way to interpret reality, as all simultaneously exist.

Convergent validation

The process of assembling diverse pieces of information that converge on a common conclusion.

Correlation coefficient

A measurement of a trend or relationship's strength and direction.

Correlational method

A method which correlates test outcomes with naturally-occurring levels of an IV.

Cortex

The outermost covering of the brain consisting of six layers of densely packed neurons, responsible for higher thought processes and interpretation of sensory input.

Critical realism

A philosophy which asserts that because perfect information about reality does not exist, it is best to assess reality and make decisions to the best of one's ability based on the information at hand, acknowledging that the outcome will always be uncertain.

Cross-sectional study

A study in which people of different ages are compared with one another - the spatial aspect changes, while the time aspect stays the same.

Cross-cultural research

A branch of the phenomenological approach which explores the degree to which psychology and experiences of reality may differ between and across cultures.

Cumulative continuity principle

The notion that personality traits are stable across the lifespan, and increase in stability as one gets older.

Efferent nerves

Nerve cells with long axons which send signals from the brain/CNS to various parts of the body.

Essential-trait approach

An approach in trait research which seeks to identifywhich trait/s are most important. Yielded the Big Five.

Expectancy effect

The effect wherein a person begin to embody the characteristics that others expect them to have.

Also known as Behavioural Confirmation.

Experience-sampling

A type of B data in which a participant self-records behavioural activities without subjective assessment. Self-reporting without self-judgement.

Also known as diary methods.

Experimental method

A method which randomly divides participants into groups which receive different manipulations of an IV's conditions, then statistically comparing the results of the groups.

Face validity

Whether a measure appears at face-value to measure what it intends to measure.

Frontal cortex

Brain region that regulates personality and goal-directed behavior. Divided into two lobes.

Frontal lobes

The portions of the cerebral cortex lying just behind the forehead; involved in speaking, muscle movements, making plans and judgments, anticipating consequences, empathy, and moral reasoning.

Fundamental attribution error

The tendency for observers, when analyzing another's behavior, to underestimate the impact of the situation and to overestimate the impact of personal disposition.

Funder's First Law

"Advantages and disadvantages have a way of being so tightly interconnected as to be inseparable. Great strengths are usually great weaknesses, and surprisingly often the opposite is true as well."

A law which applies to fields of research, theories, and individual people.

Funder's Second Law

"There are no perfect indicators of personality - there are only clues, and clues are always ambiguous."

A law which states that all forms of data are imperfect and must be interpreted with a degree of skepticism.

Funder's Third Law

"Something beats nothing, two times out of three."

A law which encourages the collection of as much data from as many data types as possible in order to better inform an inference about personality, acknowledging that all forms of data are imperfect.

Heterotypic continuity

The process by which the effects and manifestation of one's temperament change with age.

Hippocampus

A neural center located in the limbic system that helps process explicit memories for storage.

Hormones

Biological chemicals which affect the entire body.

Generalisability

The degree to which the results of a study may be applied to the broader study population, or to alternative situations, samples, or populations.

Hypothalamus

A subcortical structure, located under the thalamus, that regulates body temperature, hunger, thirst, and sexual behaviour. It secretes several important hormones.

Humanistic psychology

A branch of the phenomenological approach which explores how conscious awareness can produce uniquely human experiences (eg. existential anxiety, creativity, free will), and how an individual's worldview or experiences of reality become/are centralterm-0 to their personality.

Also considers aspects of positive psychology, which includes concepts of mindfulness, virtue, and happiness.

I data

Informant reports.

Pros:

- Large amount of info

- Real-world basis

- Common sense

- Some true by definition (eg. likeability)

- Measures a causal force

Cons:

- Limited behavioural info

- Lack access to private experience

- Prone to error and bias

Interactionism

An approach that sees people and situations as forces which interact to produce behaviour.

Interjudge agreement

The degree to which two or more sources of information deliver consistent results.

Interneurons

Nerve cells with short or no axons, which organise and regulate transmissions between nerve cells. The largest concentration of these is the brain.

Judgability

The degree to which a person can be accurately assessed on personality by others. Similar to face validity, but for immediate and informal personality assessments and relating to the subject of the judgement.

Judgements

Subjective assessments formed about another person within the context in which they have been encountered.

L data

Life outcomes.

Pros:

- Objective and verifiable facts about a person's life

- Intrinsic importance

- Psychological relevance

Cons:

- Multi-determination (multiple possible causes can lead to single outcome)

- Possible lack of psychological relevance

Learning

Changing behaviour as a result of rewards, punishments, and other experiences.

Longitudinal study

A method in which the same cohort are measured over time - the spatial aspect is the same, while the time aspect varies.

Lexical hypothesis

A trait theory which asserts that if a trait is important, there will exist language to describe it. The more important the trait, the more words to describe its nuances and the more universal and present its translations will be in other languages.

Learning and cognitive processes approaches

A collection of approaches used together to study the cognitive processes behind personality.

Includes behaviourism, social learning theory, and cognitive personality psychology.

Many-trait approach

An approach in trait research which identifies a particular behaviour and asks which personality traits lead to that behaviour.

Maturity principle

The traits needed for effective adult functioning increase with age. These traits include conscientiousness and emotional stability.

Measurement error

The cumulative effect of extraneous influences over which the researcher has no control. The less of this there is, the more reliable the measurement.

Also known as error variance.

Moderator variable

A variable which affects the relationship between two other variables.

Four potential sources:

1. Properties of the judge

2. Properties of the target

3. Properties of the trait

4. Properties of the information provided

Neocortex

The outermost part of the cerebral cortex, making up 80 percent of the cortex in the human brain. More complex and wrinkled than in other animals.

Neurons

Nerve cells, which anatomically consist of dendrites and axons.

Narcissism

A collection of personality traits characterised by excessive self-regard.

Person-environment transactions

The processes by which people respond to, seek out, or create environments which are compatible with or may magnify their personality traits.

Can be:

- Active = seeking certain environments

- Reactive = avoiding certain environments

- Evocative = creating certain environments

Personality development

The mean increase or decrease of a person's traits over time.

Person-situation debate

A controversial debate centering on whether people behave consistently across situations, and whether the person or the situation is more influential in determining behaviour.

Phenomenological approach

A basic approach with emphasis on a person's conscious experiences. Contains two branches: humanistic psychology, and cross-cultural research.

Predictive validity

The degree to which predictions made using previously gathered information are accurate.

Psychoanalytic approach

A basic approach which investigates the unconscious mind, and the nature and resolution of internal mental conflict.

Psychological triad

Thoughts, feelings, and behaviour. Applies in every area of psychology. Conflicts often arise between components, thus creating further areas of study.

Psychometrics

A method of measuring and comparing individual differences on a number of characteristics.

Rank-order consistency

The tendency to maintain the ways in which one differs from peers of the same age, despite still changing as an individual over time.

Reliability

Data have this if measurements consistently reflect what you are trying to assess and are not affected by other factors.

Research

The exploration of the unknown through gathering data.

S data

Self-report data.

Pros:

- Large amount of information

- Access to thoughts, feelings, and intentions

- Some are true by definition (eg. self-esteem)

- Measures a causal force

- Simple and easy

Cons:

- Prone to error and bias

- Potentially too simple and easy

Scatter plot

A chart which displays each piece of data as a single point on a graph. These can then be analysed to discover negative or positive correlations.

Self-efficacy

The idea that a person's internal thoughts, feelings, and intentions create the external reality they live in.

Single-trait approach

An approach in trait research wherein the focus is on people with one particular trait, and the link between that trait and their behaviour.

Self-verification

The idea that people work hard to bring others to treat them in a manner that confirms their self-conception.

Situationism

An approach which describes behaviour as being largely determined by the circumstances a person finds themself in.

Social clock

Social norms which place pressure on people to have accomplished certain things by certain ages.

Social learning theory

A behaviourist theory which draws inferences about how mental processes such as observation and self-evaluation determine which behaviours are learned and how they are performed. Can be related to cognitive processes.

Spearman-Brown Formula

A formula predicting theincrease of reliability attained by adding equivalent items to a test, thereby making it longer.

Relates to aggregation.

Temperament

A person's foundational characteristics which appear in early life and persist across the lifespan.

State

An unstable attribute of personality.

Thalamus

A subcortical structure which regulates arousal (among other functions).

Trait

A stable attribute of personality.

Typological approach

An approach to trait research which focusses on patterns of traits as they appear in individuals, and seeks to identify common patterns so that particular 'types' of individuals may be characterised and categorised.

Trait approach

A basic approach focussed on individual psychological differences and how these differences may be conceptualised, measured, and followed over time.

The largest and most dominant approach in personality psychology.

Validity

The degree to which a measure measures the concepts it intends to.

WEIRD countries

Countries which have a predominantly Western, educated, industrialised, rich, and democratic population. Most often the setting or subject of research.